Early 20th Century 1901 - 1918 | The National Archives

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Early 20th Century 1901 - 1918

Battle plans, maps and unit war diaries chronicle the conflict between Europe's great powers.

From 1915 read the Cabinet discussions on the progress of the war at the highest level.

Topics
- Great War
  Outbreak, experience, peacemaking and remembrance
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- Britain 1906-18
  Contrast, contradiction and change
  
  Key stage 2 - 5
- Focus on Film
  Investigate film as a historical source
  
  Key stage 2 - 5
- - Focus on Isaac Rosenberg
    Poetry shaped by wartime experience
  - Women in Uniform
    Service in the Crimea, Western Front and Second World War
  - Crime and Punishment
    From heretics and poachers to car crime and walkie-talkies
    
    Key stage 2 - 5
  - Citizenship
    A history of people, rights and power
  - British Empire
    Rise and decline of the first global empire
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
  - 1901
    Life in Britain at the time of the census
  - Treasures
    Highlights from the collections of The National Archives
  - Caribbean Histories Revealed
    Explore our collections on the history of the British Caribbean
  - The Cabinet Papers 1915-78
    History through the eyes of 60 years of British cabinets
    
    Key stage 4 - 5
  - Human Rights
    800 years of the struggle for rights
  - Moving Here
    200 years of the history of migration to England
    
    Key stage 2 - 4
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Lessons
- Jutland: Death at Sea
  Were lives wasted when the Indefatigable sank?
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- The Sinking of the Titanic
  Who was on board?
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- How We Were Taught
  What was school like 100 years ago?
  
  Key stage 2 - 3
- - General Haig
    Butcher of the Somme or hero of Amiens?
    
    Key stage
  - School Dinners
    Why were school dinners brought in?
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
  - The Zeppelin Raids
    How did Great War Zeppelin raids affect British civilians?
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
  - A Great War Soldier's Record
    What can we find out?
    
    Key stage 3 - 4
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Workshops
- Easter Rising 1916
  Did Britain's actions push Ireland closer to Republicanism?
  
  Key stage 5
- What is History? (KS2)
  How do historians know what to believe?
  
  Key stage 2
- Russian Revolution 1917
  The overthrow of the Tsar and the rise of the Bolsheviks
  
  Key stage 5
- - Suffragettes Study Day
    Work with police files and meet a suffragette at Hampton Court
    
    Key stage 5
  - Votes for Women
    Uncover the tactics and treatment of militant suffragettes
    
    Key stage 5
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Videoconferences
- Lawmakers or Law-breakers?
  Debate the suffrage with PM Asquith and a suffragette
  
  Key stage
- What is History? (KS2)
  How do historians know what to believe?
  
  Key stage 2
- All Pals Together
  A First World War Soldier's Story
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- - Deeds Not Words
    Was militancy a help or hindrance to the Suffragette cause?
    
    Key stage 5
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Virtual classroom
- Lawmakers or Law-breakers?
  Debate the suffrage with PM Asquith and a suffragette
  
  Key stage
- What is History? (KS2)
  How do historians know what to believe?
  
  Key stage 2
- All Pals Together
  A First World War Soldier's Story
  
  Key stage 3 - 4
- - Deeds Not Words
    Was militancy a help or hindrance to the Suffragette cause?
    
    Key stage 5
  Show/hide more items

Podcasts
- Voices of the Armistice
  Our series of podcasts about the events of World War I
  
  Key stage 3 - 5

Time periods

History by numbers

60

Age of Edward VII at his coronation
628

Victoria Crosses awarded for actions during the First World War
181

3rd class survivors of the sinking of the Titanic
9,200,000

Women voters in 1918 election
19,240

British soldiers killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme

For teachers

For students